went for my first Open Water Swim this last Saturday.... I admit I am a bit of a wimp as far as water temps are concerned....Part of the problem is the pool I swim in is kept at 84-85 degrees all the time. Per request from noodlers...(see thread in general discussion "death to all noodlers") which makes it a big difference to jump into a lake. I have been monitoring our local lakes temperature, and it has been slow to warm up this year. Saturday, although the air was 62 the water was 73. When I jumped in I had a hard time breathing.. kinda small convulsions, gasping for air....after a few minutes they went away and I had a very enjoyable swim (except for the part I looked to see my 18 yr old daughter pacing me, doing ***!)..this is the second time it has happened to me....what to do? Thanks in advance.
hoosier, i know exactly what you are talking about! i found that it is really, really important for me, prior to actual swimming, to slowly warm up in and acclimate to the water. it can take me ten minutes.
last week while swimming in a 5k i opted not to warm up beforehand because the lake felt warm. so i jogged into the lake at the start and then start gasping for air, and with my heart racing, i thought my sorry ass wouldn't make it 200 yards! but i did *** stroke for awhile, calmed down, and then had a really beautiful swim. moral of the story, i should have warmed up in the lake beforehand....
.... I admit I am a bit of a wimp as far as water temps are concerned....
Me too. I solved it by staying away from 'em. Yeah, I know, the sissy way out.
:) that's normal for me. I just do head up *** stroke for a few minutes and relax into it.
My blog "Chicken's Nuggets" describes some of my funny experiences in cold water training.
Yes Hoosier, "The Enchanted Forest" meet is this Sat. and Sun. at Forest Park Pool in Noblesville. Nasti's are gonna have to swim in the lake both days since Carmel and Fisher's are both closed too.
Will you be there? You could come swim with us at Morse Reservoir around 9:00 am. It should be fairly warm by Saturday.
Unfortunately, I got it (again) while swimming in a cool pool a few weeks ago. After that, I realized that my open water race days were over. :sad: I was going to do a mile race Saturday, but that's off.
Good luck! And be safe.
JIM
Oh, I am sorry to hear that. Perhaps the OW just needs to be warmer, and you'll race again!
Descending a ladder into water that's cold causes me some respiratory discomfort initially, but it goes away in ca. 30 sec. Acclimating is very important.
I'm a hoosier too! Our outdoor pool has been cold lately (74-78) and the air too. I think it's warming back up this week and we'll have the opposite problem.
I am going to start taking COLD showers in preparation for the "Big Shoulders" swim. Marcia Cleveland (an English Channel swimmer) took cold showers during her years preparing to swim the channel. (she did some really cold water swims too) Her book implies that she thinks the cold showers helped; it can't hurt.
Have Fun!
I've seen in other threads (and this seems to be true) that the hyperventilation on entering the water is a reaction to the cold water hitting a nerve plexus located somewhere between the eyes. It takes about 30 seconds for that to relax.
Some swimmers begin all cold water swims by doing *** stroke until they get their bearings. I brace for it and make my first 10 or so strokes very smooth and very even. Then it goes away.
Breaststroke is good...and so is backstroke and walking ankle-high, then knee-high, then waist-high in the water ahead of time, also splashing the face as has been recommended. You can also purchase lanolin from your local medical supply store and firmly wipe a very thin layer of lanolin on your upper body. It will act like a VERY thin wetsuit and will help take away some of the shock of getting in the water. Wearing 2 swimcaps and earplugs (as all surfers do in cold water) are also helpful. You can also build up your brown fat cells (see www.10kswimmer.com/.../staying-warm-with-brown-fat.html) by methods as described by others in this thread. Lastly, you can read the book Wind, Waves and Sunburn: A Brief History of Marathon Swimming by Conrad Wennerberg for a lot of very inspirational cold-water swim stories. Good luck.
It could be asthma, if you're prone to it. Or it could be something else that seems to be emerging. It's called SIPE = Swimming Induced Pulmonary Edema. You gradually find it harder to breathe; it feels like you start getting fluid in your lungs. How do you prevent it? It's not known completely. One suggestion has been to make sure you're warmed up (started swimming slowly, or maybe walk/jog before entering the water) enough before swimming.
Unfortunately, I got it (again) while swimming in a cool pool a few weeks ago. After that, I realized that my open water race days were over. :sad: I was going to do a mile race Saturday, but that's off.
Good luck! And be safe.
JIM
Thank you sr,,,this seems right...and actually that is what I did...I swam *** stroke for a while, so I could breathe...it did go away, just really wierd feeling.
